1. Statement of the Technical Field
The present invention relates to instant messaging and more particularly to inviting a participant to engage in an on-line chat session.
2. Description of the Related Art
The unparalleled growth of the Internet has led to the development of several new modes of electronic interpersonal communications. Initially, electronic mail (e-mail) provided a mechanism with which correspondents could exchange textual messages in an asynchronous fashion. E-mail technology has since evolved to include the ability both to embed and attach multimedia elements in addition to the textual content. Still, e-mail usage has been limited in respect to the asynchronous nature of e-mail communications. That is, where timing is of no consequence, the delayed responses to messages which are inherent to asynchronous communications do not inhibit the communicative flow of information between correspondents. Where timing is of paramount concern, however, different communicative technologies have been considered.
Specifically, instant messaging systems have become all the rage in network computing. Initially adopted as an aside to chat room technology, instant messaging has since supplanted e-mail as the preferred mode of network communications for real-time on-line conversations. In that regard, instant messaging provides an excellent substitute for short telephone conversations in which minimal to moderate amounts of information are to be related between conversants. Moreover, as messages are communicated instantaneously between participants in an instant messaging session, the delayed responses associated with e-mail no longer can inhibit the flow of conversation between electronic correspondents.
Instant messaging typically involves the disposition of instant messaging clients in the computing devices of respective correspondents. Instant messaging further involves one or more centralized instant messaging servers or centralized or distributed controllers able to manage the flow of data between individual ones of the instant messaging clients. In particular, whether the management of the flow of data between individual instant messaging clients is included as part of the clients in a peer-to-peer system, or as part of a server in a client-server system, the management of the flow of data can include such tasks as tracking the participants in any one instant messaging session, determining whether a particular instant messaging client is on-line and available to participate in a session, and uploading and downloading attachments to instant messages.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, ordinarily, an instant messaging client 110 can present a conversation area 130 in which the text of an on-going conversation in the instant messaging session can be presented. To facilitate the invitation of others to join the instant messaging session, the instant messaging client 110 can include a list of memorized contacts 120 able to participate in instant messaging sessions. Once a session has been initiated, conversants can post messages to the session by entering textual messages in the message posting area 140. Importantly, as it will be apparent by reference to FIG. 1, the contributions of individual conversants in the on-going instant messaging session can be denoted by the identity of the respective individual conversants in the conversation area 130.
Despite the identification of participants in an instant messaging session, there are times when conversant would prefer to observe or participate in an on-line conversation anonymously. For example, in the call center context, many call distribution systems provide functionality for supervisory officials to anonymously monitor the progress of a customer service telephone call. Similarly, in many cases trainees can experience live conversations by anonymously observing the progress of a customer service or sales call. It will be well understood by many that often true opinion can be suppressed for fear of retribution. Thus, anonymous participation in a conversation can facilitate the flow of sincere opinion. Nevertheless, conventional instant messaging technology heretofore has not been configured to allow anonymous participation. Specifically, the very nature of instant messaging clients requires the exposure of the identity of active and potential participants in an instant messaging system.